Asia in July with little kids

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dehein2
dehein2

Hi all,

Our small family of two adults and one 3 year old and one 1 year old want to stay for three weeks in Asia next July.

According to what I read so far during this month only Indonesia part of Thailand and Malaysia seem to have nice weather ;)

We already visited Koh Samui/Koh Phangang two years ago when our older child was 1.

What we are searching for is a place - or two places not to far away - that combines nice beaches with activities we can do as a family. From our last trip we know that just beach is just not our kind of vacation and especially on Koh Phangang (while the beach and hotel were perfect) there was just not enough to do for us.

So the ideal place would be a nice beach but with sites and activities to visit in driving distance (not sure if self driving as possible/reasonable anywhere in Asia, but we would even prefer that). With activities I mean: small boat trips, shorter (Jungle) hikes, cultural sites (temples), ...)

What we definitely don’t want is crowded areas a big hotels ;). And I'm really allergic against trash lying around - i know it's Asia.. but still ;)

Last point is that good medical care should be available as we are traveling with small children and that the Malaria risk shouldn’t be high.

Soooo... where should we go to? ;))

Thanks a lot

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Laszlo
Laszlo

Bali would be perfect but its beaches are only Ok rather than really nice.
But the landside attractions make up for that.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, Maluku, West Papua, Raja Ampat & Indonesian Visas
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, Kiribati & Tuvalu
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dehein2
dehein2

Thank you. I've read that Bali is quite crowded especially during high season?

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Laszlo
Laszlo

Like everywhere, the crowds congregate at certain places, especially the resort areas of the South, and Ubud. The rest of the island is far less crowded, and indeed much of Bali is pretty much untouched by the tourism industry and is great to explore by car or motorbike.
However, you shouldn't expect to find beautiful, undiscovered beaches.
Still, beach areas away from the South are far less crowded.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, Maluku, West Papua, Raja Ampat & Indonesian Visas
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, Kiribati & Tuvalu
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dehein2
dehein2

Hi Laszlo,

thanks a lot - i'll have a closer look into the other coasts than ;)

I also thought about the Malaysian east coast/Islands (self-driving should be possible in Malaysia easily i think), but i dont't know that much about the area - how does it compare to Indonesian or Thai Islands like Koh Samui?).

Best
Dennis

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Laszlo
Laszlo

The East coast islands of Malaysia are quite small and offer very little besudes beaches and snorkelling/diving.
The beaches would be superior to those on Bali, everything else inferior.
And being small, they are pretty much all about tourism.
If you thought Koh Phangan had too little to offer, these will offer even less.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, Maluku, West Papua, Raja Ampat & Indonesian Visas
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, Kiribati & Tuvalu
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lucapal
lucapal

Agree with Laszlo.You could look ar Bali combined with Lombok,if you want better beaches?

East Coast Malaysia has nice beaches but not a huge amount else of interest.

With 3 weeks you could do two separate places..why not?

Those mentioned,or combine East Coast Malaysia islands for the beaches with Sarawak (Borneo) for example.

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dehein2
dehein2

Thank you 2 - of course we want a nice beach, but we want to do some kind of activity every other day (more or less), so i wouldn't do 1,5 weeks beach and afterwards 1,5 weeks more activities.

I've read that Borneo is not ideal with small children, otherwise it sounds interesting..

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lucapal
lucapal

Lots of children in places like Kuching.There are good NPs nearby,orang utans,boat trips,longhouse visits..a lot of interesting stuff for children I think.

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dehein2
dehein2

Thanks - how are the beaches on Borneo btw.? Or is Borneo more the place to go for "other" activities?

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